Elon Musk has said the US needs to “delete entire agencies” from the federal government.
Mr Musk has consolidated control over large swaths of the government with President Donald Trump’s blessing since assuming leadership of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
That has included sidelining career officials, gaining access to sensitive databases and inviting a constitutional clash over the limits of presidential authority.
Mr Musk made the comments at the World Governments Summit in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
Mr Musk, the world’s wealthiest person through his investments in SpaceX and electric carmaker Tesla, wore a black T-shirt that read: “Tech Support.”
He joked that he was the “White House’s tech support,” borrowing from his profile on the social platform X, which he owns.
“I think we do need to delete entire agencies as opposed to leave a lot of them behind,” Mr Musk said.
“If we don’t remove the roots of the weed, then it’s easy for the weed to grow back.”